A-Day Game 2010
Spring practice 2010 came to an end of Saturday with the annual A-day game, and once again, the Bama nation did themselves proud, with an estimated attendance of greater than 91,000. If I’m not mistaken, that’s the second-largest crowd ever for a spring game, falling just short of the capacity crowd that we drew in 2007 (Saban’s first year). If you attended, congratulations; you’re playing a bigger part than you might think in Alabama’s recent football success.
Now onto the game. As you know, and as I’ve said dozens of times, it’s almost impossible to judge a team based on a scrimmage, because a great play on offense can be interpreted as a poor play on defense, and a great play on defense can be interpreted as a poor play on offense. That being said, the main thing that I noticed on Saturday and other scrimmages this spring is the amazing amount of talent that we have on the field. Seriously, I’m willing to go so far as to say that right now, we have the most talented team that we’ve ever had at Alabama. Of course, we all know that talent doesn’t necessarily equate to on-field performance, but if that young talent develops to its potential, man, are we ever going to have some fun on fall Saturdays in the near future!
We’re losing 9 starters on defense, but the defense still dominated (for the most part) Saturday’s scrimmage. Marcel Dareus has been a fire-breathing mega-beast all spring, so watching him chew up our offensive line wasn’t a surprise, but I was also really happy with the development of other players. Specifically, I thought Courtney Upshaw and Nico Johnson look noticeably better this year. Speaking of Nico, I know he was running with the second team on Saturday, but I think that was to give him experience at the same position that Dont’a plays. I fully expect to see him in the starting lineup next fall.
Our secondary also featured a ton of new faces, and even though I have some concerns about the safety position (not the one Barron plays, of course), we are absolutely loaded at cornerback. Seriously, Dre Kirkpatrick, BJ Scott, John Fulton, and Demarcus Milliner are in my opinion the most talented set of CBs we’ve ever had, and quite possibly, the most talented group that anybody has ever had. Understand, I’m not saying that they’re the best we’ve ever had, but if these guys improve as much as Arenas, Jackson, and Johnson did over the last couple of years, they will be. And by the way, I predict that Dre will be All-SEC this year, and I also predict that both he and Fulton will be All Americans before they leave.
As for our offense, it really looked a lot like last year’s edition, which is both good and bad. You all know how good our running backs are, easily the best tandem in the nation. Our third-string RB, Eddie Lacey, could start for the vast majority of the SEC. However, as loaded as we are at RB, have you noticed how stacked we are at the QB position? We are four deep at QB, with our Number 4 QB being a freshman who was the nation’s top QB recruit last year. I had written Star Jackson off, but after this spring, I think that the battle for the starting QB position next year after McElroy leaves will be an absolute bloodbath. I predict it will be McCarron, but don’t count out either Jackson or Sims. Those dudes can play!
On the downside, I was a little disappointed in the play of the offensive line. Yeah, I know; no one can block our defense, blah blah blah. I’ve been a little down on our offensive line’s ability to pass protect the last several years, and I was hoping to see an noticeable improvement in that area. However, I haven’t seen that yet, and that’s the only thing that really has me worried. Think about it. We have outstanding QBs, excellent WRs (including Julio Jones, Marquis Maze, and Darius Hanks, all of whom are returning starters), the best RBs in America, and yet, our offense is no better than average. If we could protect the passer, we could score 50 points a game.
And one more thing related to Spring practice and the A-Day game, I want to mention the play of our WR Brandon Gibson. Gibson is a Junior out of Mobile who was highly touted coming out of high school, but has done absolutely nothing since arriving at the Capstone. However, I don’t know what has gotten into him, but he has been playing like a madman this spring, and he had over 140 yards receiving in the A-Day game, including the game winning TD reception on the last play of the game (which wasn’t broadcast by ESPN). I don’t know if that will translate to production or even playing time this fall, but you can’t help but admire how he’s stuck with it through what must have been some very trying years. Brandon, I’m really proud of your effort, and I’m rooting for you. Go get ‘em, big guy!
I guess I’ll stop now. After all, I don’t think any of you want me to start talking about our kicking game, which at this point looks like a dance recital for the School of Precious Little Girls (it will get a lot better before the fall). Suffice it to say that this team should be very fun to watch, and I can’t wait for the fall to get here!
I’m planning on writing a couple of blogs in the near future where I review our last two recruiting classes, and see how I did on my Top Ten lists. Until then, feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
Roll Tide!
Kenny
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